Serving a Sovereign Was Like Keeping Company with a Tiger

Jun Chenyu rose in the dead of night. In the dim light, a figure strode into the bedchamber and bowed before him.

Jun Chenyu wore only a soft black robe, its loose neckline revealing the sleek contours of his muscular chest. His expression remained cool and composed in the dim light. "Have you found everything out?"

The man knelt. "Your Majesty, everything has been investigated. The guard on duty that night was assigned to the Palace of Eternal Joy. Someone slipped him silver, calling it money for tea, and asked him to make an exception so they could meet the newly favored Noble Lady Yun and seek her help. They never expected matters to get out of hand.

"This servant has confirmed that the drug came from..."

The servant paused, seemingly gauging Jun Chenyu's expression. Jun Chenyu's brows lowered. "Speak freely."

"The Palace of Prolonged Happiness. The drug is not difficult to prepare, and its ingredients match the medicinal supplies that palace secretly sent people to obtain from the Imperial Medical Bureau."

Jun Chenyu's eyes darkened. "So it was her."

The Black-Clad Man continued, "This servant also discovered that Joyous Promise secretly visited the Palace of Prolonged Happiness before the incident."

"Joyous Promise? Who is that?" Jun Chenyu frowned, clearly having no recollection of her.

"A concubine-born daughter of the Marquis of Bravery and Resolve, and Noble Lady Yun's younger sister."

A cold, keen glint flashed through Jun Chenyu's phoenix eyes. "I remember now. The Marquis of Bravery and Resolve sent two daughters into the palace at once."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Keep this matter under wraps. Let nothing leak."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Before dawn, Jun Chenyu called for an attendant. Eunuch Lu hurriedly pushed open the door and entered. "Your Majesty."

"What time is it?" Jun Chenyu rubbed his prominent brow ridge.

Eunuch Lu hastily replied, "There are still four hours until court begins."

Jun Chenyu acknowledged him and prepared to lie down again, only to find the candlelight unbearably glaring.

"Xiao Luzi."

Eunuch Lu hurried back in. "This servant is here."

Jun Chenyu sat up. "Fetch the Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant I used to wear and take it to Noble Lady Yun."

Eunuch Lu froze. "Your Majesty, that was a gift from the late emperor. Do you truly wish to give it to Noble Lady Yun?"

The candlelight caught Jun Chenyu's prominent brow, leaving his expression indistinct. Suddenly, he said, "Come here. I have a few instructions for you."

Eunuch Lu bowed and approached. After hearing Jun Chenyu's instructions, his cloudy eyes tightened slightly, and he quickly bent low. "This servant understands."

Wen Yunmian had not yet gone to bed. Seeing how late it was, she was about to retire when Eunuch Lu arrived.

Upon learning that he had come to deliver a gift, Wen Yunmian appeared delighted.

Eunuch Lu smiled. "Please open it and have a look, my lady."

Yun Yang accepted it and presented the pendant to Wen Yunmian. The Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant was a brilliant yellow throughout, its color exquisite. Two dragons chasing a pearl were carved upon it with lifelike detail. A single glance was enough to feel the oppressive majesty of an emperor's possession.

Wen Yunmian's gaze softened. "I am deeply grateful that His Majesty has bestowed such a precious gift upon me. Sorry for the trouble, Eunuch Lu, but please inform His Majesty that I will come to thank him in person first thing tomorrow morning."

"Of course." He agreed with a smile.

Eunuch Lu glanced at Yun Yang and Yun Fei beside her. Understanding his meaning, Wen Yunmian dismissed them.

Only once they were alone did Eunuch Lu speak. "My lady, this servant happened to hear something today, but I do not know whether I should report it to you."

Wen Yunmian's eyes grew unfathomable. She lowered her lashes, concealing every trace of emotion in them. "What is it?"

Eunuch Lu murmured, "This servant happened to hear that His Majesty investigated the incident involving the guard at Peony Pavilion. It was Her Highness Consort Shu who arranged it. Since you are now the one dearest to His Majesty's heart, this servant believes he will surely seek justice for you."

Wen Yunmian tightened her grip on her handkerchief. Watching Eunuch Lu's unchanged expression, her thoughts twisted and turned a thousand times.

In her previous life, Eunuch Lu had been utterly loyal to the emperor and had never sided with any consort. His eagerness to come and tell her this tonight could only have been at the emperor's command.

Palace servants currying favor with a favored mistress was perfectly ordinary. Coupled with the gift of the sovereign's dragon-patterned pendant, it would be more than enough to dazzle a young girl newly arrived in the palace and rob her of her reason.

Had she truly been seventeen, an age when she would not yet know how to hide her thoughts, such prompting would surely have made her spill everything.

Although the Marquis of Bravery and Resolve's Residence had no sons and seemed headed for decline, it still held military power. At this point in her previous life, Consort Shu's ambitious father and brother had approached her father. The emperor's network of informants was vast; he must have known.

On one side stood the Duke of State Pacification, a powerful minister who also held the post of Grand Preceptor, whose daughter alone enjoyed the emperor's favor throughout the six palaces. On the other stood a military marquis with little political influence, but command of a hundred thousand troops on the frontier.

He was using her to probe the intentions of the Marquis’s Residence.

Consort Shu's clan already harbored the ravenous ambition of wolves. That Consort Shu had harmed her was of little consequence, but if she, as a representative of the Marquis’s Residence, failed to strike back, it would surely suggest that her family intended to attach itself to Consort Shu's maternal family, the Qin Clan. If so, they might no longer be allowed to live.

The emperor was truly chilling. Serving a sovereign really was like keeping company with a tiger. After all, any woman who entered the imperial harem would, to some extent, follow the wishes of her father and brothers. Thus, every action a consort took also reflected the thinking of the family behind her.

The mere thought brought cold sweat to Wen Yunmian's back. What could she do to dispel Jun Chenyu's suspicions?

As she pondered, Eunuch Lu spoke again. "My lady, would you like to keep this matter quiet and say nothing of it?"

Everyone around the emperor was shrewd as a fox. She could sense Eunuch Lu observing her.

Wen Yunmian swallowed. If she sought justice from the emperor but failed to strike the right balance, that damned emperor might decide she was trying to climb into wealth and power, and perhaps begin to despise her.

Every course was a losing move. Her only option now was...

"Ah..." Wen Yunmian clutched her chest, her face suddenly turning deathly pale. Just as she was about to topple off the couch, Eunuch Lu hurried to support her. "My lady!"

Wen Yunmian's eyes reddened. "Eunuch Lu, I... I'm so frightened. Why would Her Highness do this to me...?"

Before Eunuch Lu could speak, Wen Yunmian's eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

This left Eunuch Lu stunned. "Someone! Come quickly! Her Ladyship has fainted!"

By the time Jun Chenyu received the news, he had already risen to prepare for court. Palace maids filed in carrying trays and arranged his dragon robe.

"She fainted?"

Eunuch Lu nodded. "Noble Lady Yun does seem exceedingly timid. The moment this servant repeated the words Your Majesty instructed me to say, she began trembling all over with fear. Before this servant could prompt her any further, she actually fainted from fright."

Jun Chenyu's stern expression shifted slightly, leaving his thoughts impossible to read. After a moment, he said, "Summon her to Chanyang Palace tonight."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

While Wen Yunmian was eating breakfast, Yun Fei ran in to share the good news. Yet Wen Yunmian's heart sank, and even her appetite vanished. "His Majesty has summoned me to Chanyang Palace to attend him in bed?"

Yun Fei blinked. "The eunuch who brought the message only said that you were to go to Chanyang Palace tonight, my lady. But what else would you go there for besides attending His Majesty in bed?"